Image and Imagery. An image is language that creates a concrete representation of an object or an experience. An image is also the vivid mental picture created in the reader’s mind by that language. Taken together, the images in a poem or passage are called its imagery. The poem you are about to read, “Blue Cornucopia,” creates vivid images, all related to the color blue. As you read, create a cluster chart like the one to the right. In the center circle, write the subject of the poem—blue. In the circles that stem from this main circle, list specific shades of blue mentioned in the poem. From the circles listing shades of blue, you should create additional circles listing the poet’s examples of this particular shade of blue.

• The poem you are about to read is a good example of Imagism. Imagism was a type of poetry that poets like Ezra Pound and Amy Lowell developed in the early twentieth century. Imagists tried to create in their writing exact, sharp images to evoke emotion in the reader rather than to describe directly thoughts and feelings.
• The English language has a rich history: modern English stems from many different languages, including Germanic languages, Latin, Scandinavian languages, and French. Just as there are many shades of blue to be found in nature, so too are there many different words for blue. The word blue entered English from the French word bleu, while cerulean, meaning “sky-blue,” stems from the Latin word for heaven. Adept wordsmiths, poets enjoy the many synonyms and words with different shades of meaning found in the English language. In “Blue Cornucopia,” Robert Francis shows the reader some of the many different words we have for blue.

Before you read the poem, list as many blue things you can think of in your journal.